How much does PMI cost per month?

Typically 0.19% to 1.85% of the original loan amount a year, divided into monthly payments. On a $361,250 loan at 0.55%, that is about $166 a month. The rate depends on your credit score and how much you borrowed relative to the home value.

When does PMI go away?

You can request removal once your balance reaches 80% of the original purchase price, and the servicer must terminate it automatically at 78%. Requesting it at 80% rather than waiting is usually worth several hundred to a few thousand dollars.

Is PMI ever worth paying?

Often yes. Waiting years to save a full 20% means paying rent and risking price increases in the meantime. The question is not whether PMI is bad but whether the extra cash is better spent on the down payment or kept — which is exactly what the savings runway in the calculator prices out.

What PMI is, what it costs, and how to get rid of it

Private mortgage insurance protects your lender, not you. Here is how it is priced, what it adds to a real payment, and the two dates it can come off.

Updated August 2026

Private mortgage insurance is what a lender charges you for the risk of lending more than 80% of a home's value. It protects the lender if you default. It does nothing for you — which is why every dollar of it is worth removing as fast as you reasonably can.

What drives the price

Two things, mainly:

Loan-to-value. 5% down is priced very differently from 15% down. Each step toward 20% cuts the rate.
Credit score. The same loan can cost three times as much in PMI at a 620 score as at 800.

The scenario below starts at 15% down so you can see the PMI line in the breakdown. Change the down payment to 20% and watch it disappear — then look at what the suggestion panel says about how long it would take you to save the difference.

Where you are buying

Country

State

Property type

Using Texas averages: 1.63% property tax and $3,400 a year insurance per $300k of cover. Both are editable below.

The home

Home price

$100k $2M

Down payment & term

Down payment

Under 20% down, PMI is added to your payment. 20% here is $85,000.

Loan term

Your rate

Credit score range

Interest rate

Your quote

Enter your own

Weekly national averages for conventional loans with strong credit. Live from Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Rate data is 31 days old — it may have moved. Check the source before relying on it.

Property tax

1.63% of price a year · $577 per payment

Homeowner's insurance

$321 per payment

HOA fees

$0 per payment

Monthly HOA fee, common for condos and planned communities — not part of the loan.

Payment options Monthly

Payment frequency

Extra per payment

Voluntary principal on top of every scheduled payment.

Total monthly payment

$3,296 /mo

$2,329 principal & interest plus $968 taxes, insurance and fees

Loan amount: $361,250
Paid off: Sep 2056
Total interest: $477.1K

A dated roadmap from these numbers — on screen or as a 2-page PDF.

Principal & interest $2,329
Property tax $577
Homeowner's insurance $321
PMI $69
Total per month $3,296

PMI of $69 a month (est. 0.23% of the loan a year) drops off around Feb 2033 — or from payment 58 if you request removal at 20% equity.

Cash needed up front $72,250

Down payment (15%): $63,750
Closing costs (estimate): $8,500

Closing costs are a rough 2% of price. Actual legal fees, inspections and title costs vary by state.

2026

86% interest

$24,050 of interest against $3,894 off the balance.
2046

The balance tips

Year 21: equity overtakes interest, $14,788 to $13,156.
2055

Almost all yours

Interest down to $987, with $425,000 of equity built.
Lifetime

$477.1K

Total interest on this loan. A shorter term or bigger payments move it — priced below.

Hover or focus the chart and use the arrow keys to read any single year; every figure is also in the payment schedule.

Amortization by year: principal, interest and remaining balance.
Year	Principal	Interest	Insurance	Balance
2026 year 1	$3,894	$24,050	$831	$357,356
2027 year 2	$4,163	$23,781	$831	$353,193
2028 year 3	$4,450	$23,494	$831	$348,742
2029 year 4	$4,757	$23,187	$831	$343,985
2030 year 5	$5,085	$22,859	$831	$338,899
2031 year 6	$5,436	$22,508	$831	$333,463
2032 year 7	$5,811	$22,133	$346	$327,652
2033 year 8	$6,212	$21,732	—	$321,439
2034 year 9	$6,641	$21,303	—	$314,799
2035 year 10	$7,099	$20,845	—	$307,699

What you can change

Built from your numbers — every one of these is this same calculation with a single input changed. Tap to try it; nothing is saved until you change it yourself.

Put 20% down

Going from 15% to 20% down removes PMI and cuts your payment by $206/mo.

It needs $21,250 more at closing — saving $500/mo gets you there in 3 yrs 7 mos (around May 2030).

Payment down $206/moInterest saved $33.4KCash needed now $21,250
Drop PMI at 20% equity

You reach 20% equity at payment 58 (year 5) — request PMI removal then instead of waiting and keep $69/mo.

Left alone, it terminates automatically at 22% equity in Feb 2033. Total PMI on this scenario: $5,331.
Pay three extra payments a year

Adding $582 to every payment pays this off 12 yrs 4 mos early and saves $225.1K in interest.

Same loan, same rate — the extra goes straight at the principal.

Interest saved $225.1KPaid off sooner 12 yrs 4 mos
Switch to accelerated bi-weekly

Paying half your monthly amount every two weeks is one extra monthly payment a year: 6 years off the term and $114.7K less interest.

26 payments of $1,164 instead of 12 of $2,329 — budget-neutral if you are paid every two weeks.

Payment up $194/moInterest saved $114.7KPaid off sooner 6 years
Drop to 20 years

A 20-year term raises your payment by $405/mo but cuts total interest by $184.9K.

Paid off in Sep 2046 instead of Sep 2056.

Payment up $405/moInterest saved $184.9KPaid off sooner 10 years
Watch for a half-point drop

At 6.19% your payment falls $118/mo and you pay $43K less interest overall.

That is the threshold where refinancing usually starts to pay for itself.

Payment down $118/moInterest saved $43K

The point of all this

Turn these numbers into a plan

A dated roadmap built from your scenario and the moves worth making — on screen, as a two-page PDF, and saved so you can pick it up later.

Download PDF

A personalized read on your numbers

The calculated moves below are always exact. This adds a prioritised, plain-language take on what your particular scenario calls for — written from the figures this calculator produced, not from figures the model made up.

One request, a few seconds. Nothing is stored.

Double-check this result

Run the same numbers somewhere else. Principal & interest should match to within a dollar or two; totals can differ because tools make different assumptions about PMI and whether HOA fees are included.

Bankrate (opens in a new tab)
Same monthly math. Small differences come from rounding and from how each tool estimates PMI.
Fannie Mae (opens in a new tab)
Loan-focused, so it may exclude HOA fees from the monthly total.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (opens in a new tab)
Official rate ranges by credit score and location — a good sanity check on the rate itself.

Total per month $3,296

The two dates that matter

PMI has a cancellation point and a termination point, and they are not the same. Once your balance hits 80% of the original purchase price, you can ask your servicer to remove it. If you never ask, they must drop it automatically at 78%. The gap between those two dates is often a year or more of premiums you did not have to pay, so the calculator marks both.

Four ways out

Put 20% down. No PMI, and a smaller loan.
Pay down to 80% faster. Extra payments hit principal directly, and the schedule shows the month you cross the line.
Request removal at 80%. Free, and it needs nothing but a phone call — and sometimes an appraisal.
Improve your credit before you lock. Moving up a band lowers the premium for as long as you carry it.

What drives the price

Put 20% down

Drop PMI at 20% equity

Pay three extra payments a year

Switch to accelerated bi-weekly

Drop to 20 years

Watch for a half-point drop

Turn these numbers into a plan

Double-check this result

The two dates that matter

Four ways out